A New Dawn for Aldosterone as a Therapeutic Target in Hypertension

In 1953, aldosterone, then termed electrocortin, was first isolated and characterized by James and Sylvia Tait in London. A year later, Jerome Conn described the first case of primary aldosteronism, the clinical symptoms of which were resolved by resection of an aldosterone-producing adrenal adenoma. The first effective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA), spironolactone, soon followed in 1957. However, dose- and time-dependent antiandrogenic and progestogenic adverse effects of spironolactone, resulting in painful gynecomastia in men and menstrual dysfunction in women, soon became apparent and limited its use. A search for more selective MRAs resulted in the launch early this century of eplerenone, which is a more selective but less potent aldosterone receptor antagonist.
Source: JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research